The International Day for Disaster Reduction, held every 13 October, celebrates how people and communities around the world are reducing their exposure to disasters.

Since it began 25 years ago, the day has grown into a major global awareness event celebrated in many ways to encourage efforts to build more disaster-resilient communities and nations.

The Sendai Seven Campaign builds on the success of the Step-Up Campaign 2011-2015 which saw each year rallying around a single advocacy theme dedicated each year to a particular group of vulnerable people exposed to disasters Children and Youth (2011), Women and Girls (2012), People Living with Disabilities (2013), Older Persons (2014), and Indigenous People (2015).

The success of the International Day of Disaster Risk Reduction depends on engaging and connecting with a wide range of stakeholders to promote awareness of the theme and rally support for actions required to implement it, and to achieve its targets.

The 2018 theme: REDUCE DISASTER LOSSES BY 2030 aims at substantially reducing disaster economic losses in relation to National GDPs provides another opportunity for all actors including national governments; local governments, community groups, civil society organisations, the private sector, international organisations and the UN family, to promote best practice at international, regional and national level across all sectors, to reduce disaster risk and disaster losses.

In partnership with the United Nations office for Disaster Risk Reduction in Africa, Arab States and Geneva, the Disaster Risk Reduction Network of Africa Journalists (DIRAJ) is pleased to launch the inaugural DIRAJ MEDIA AWARDS to recognize and honour the work of journalists and media houses that have provided coverage and consistent reporting on stories that enhance public understanding, awareness and engagement with policies aimed at reducing economic losses as a result of disasters.

The Award Ceremony will take place in Tunis, Tunisia on 13th October 2018 during the 7th Africa Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction.

The judging panel is keen to assess stories that showcase:

Efforts taken or not taken to significantly reduce the number of deaths and the number of people affected and the (de) increase in the direct economic losses relative to global gross domestic product caused by disasters, including water-related disasters, with a focus on protecting the poor and people in vulnerable situations.

The use of Desinventor tool in the National Disaster Loss Database to assess direct economic loss in relation to global GDP, damage to critical infrastructure and number of disruptions to basic services, attributed to disasters.

Compelling data of physical damage value (housing unit loss, infrastructure loss by event, by hazard type e.g. disaggregation by climatological, hydrological, meteorological, geophysical, biological and extra-terrestrial for natural hazards) and thereafter converts the same to monetary value and holds those entrusted with action to account.

The special needs, voices, concerns on economic costs of disasters and ways of reducing such losses by marginalized communities, post conflict societies, disadvantaged persons and often neglected Constituencies e.g. rural populations, urban poor, pastoralists, prisoners of thought and conscience, women groups, children and youth.

The role/ steps taken by national disaster management agencies, civil protection agencies, and meteorological agencies, and line ministries in reduction of economic losses as a result of putting place national disaster risk reduction policies.

This award is open for accredited Journalists working in Television, Radio, Print Media and verified news websites. Proof of media accreditation will be required during submission of the entry.

Stories must have been broadcast on national reach media between January 2018 and 01 September 2018.

Stories should be submitted in English/ French only. If provided in another language, a transcript of the translation with appropriate time codes/ subtitles should be provided and labelled as ANNEX 1- LANGUAGE TRANSLATION.

Stories should reflect the unique challenges and solutions that reside in the locality, country as opposed to external models.